Fence post cap



Feb. 18, 1969 T. G. SCONZO FENCE POST CAP Sheet Filed May 25. 1967 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Feb. 18, 1969 T. G. SCONZO 3,428,300

FENCE POST CAP I Filed May 23, 1967 LLL QLLQ /z I] /z a I a I"; I l, -T- 24 O O 0 l Q; I g 4: '1 I 6 ii 7 I mvsmon [Zams 6.1540224,

ATTORNEY United States Patent 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A cap which is adapted to be applied to the upper end of a fence post for supporting a tubular rail along the upper edge of a fence, and comprises, a pair of opposed similar sections which are adapted to be removably clamped together about the upper end of a fence post.

Wire fences, especially those of the chain link type, are usually provided with a top rail of metal piping which extends along the upper edge of the fence. For this purpose the upper ends of the fence posts are provided with caps having integral upwardly extending transversely disposed relatively narrow rings through which the piping is inserted. These caps are frequently broken or damaged and must be replaced. In order to replace a damaged cap the piping, or a section thereof, must first be removed from the fence by withdrawing it from the rings of the caps applied to other posts, after which the damaged cap is removed from the post and a new cap substituted therefor. The piping is then replaced by inserting it through the ring of the new cap and the various other cap rings from which it was withdrawn. Also the piping is sometimes damaged and must be replaced. Frequently the damage to the piping is such that it cannot be withdrawn from the cap rings in which case both the piping and various caps must be replaced, all of which is a time consuming and costly job.

It is therefore the principal object of this invention to provide a fence post cap of the aforesaid character which is so constructed and arranged that it can be quickly and easily removed from a fence post and replaced thereon without interfering with the piping rail carried thereby.

Another object of the invention is to provide a fence post cap of the aforesaid character which is of simple sturdy construction, and can be easily and inexpensively manufactured.

Having stated the principal objects of the invention other and more specific objects thereof will be apparent from the following specification and the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a fence post cap, constructed according to my invention, showing it applied which constitutes the top rail of a wire fence;

FIG. 2 is a vertical section taken on the line 22 on FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a transverse vertical section taken on the line 3-3 on FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a horizontal section taken on the line 44 on FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a horizontal section taken on the line 5-5 on FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a horizontal section taken on the line 66 on FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a view in elevation of the opposing side of one of the sections of the cap;

FIG. 8 is a view in elevation of the opposing side of the other section of the cap; and

FIG. 9 is a sectional view illustrating the manner in which the cap is applied to and removed from the upper end of a fence post.

3,428,300 Patented Feb. 18, 1969 Referring now to the drawings by reference characters, the numeral 1 indicates generally a fence post cap, constructed according to my invention, which is adapted to be removably secured to the upper end of a fence post 2 for supporting a piping 3 which is disposed along the upper edge of a fence and constitutes the top rail thereof. The cap 1 is composed of two opposed similar half sections, generally indicated by the numerals 4 and 5. The section 4 comprises a semi-circular head 6, an integral downwardly extending semi-cylindrical wall 7, and an integral upwardly extending concavely curved arm 8; and the section 5 comprises a semi-circular head 9' similar to the semicircular head 6, an integral downwardly extending semi-cylindrical wall 10 similar to the wall 7, and an integral upwardly extending concavely curved arm 11 similar to the arm '8. The wall 7 of the section 4 is provided with a pair of opposite outwardly extending apertured cars 12, and the wall 10 of the section 5 is provided with a pair of opposite outwardly extending apertured ears 13 which are similar to and adapted to register with the cars 12 for the reception of bolts 14 and nuts 15 by which the sections 4 and 5 are adapted to be secured together face to face. When so secured together the semicircular heads 6 and 9 together with the semi-cylindrical walls 7 and 10 form an inverted cup-shaped member 16 for the reception of the upper end of the cylindrical post 2; and the arms '8 and 11 form a transversely extending ring-shaped member defining a closed elliptically shaped aperture 17 for the reception of the piping rail 3. In order to assure the proper mating of the sections 4 and 5 the ears 12 and 13 are offset with respect to the opposed edges of the semi-cylindrical walls 7 and 10, as shown in FIGS. 2, 5 and 9, and the head 6 is provided with a rib 18 which is adapted to engage a complementary groove 19 in the head 9. The cars 13 are slotted as shown at 20 for the reception of the nuts 15.

The upper free end of the arm 11 is provided with a forwardly and upwardly extending ornamental knob 21; and the upper free end of the arm 8 is provided with a forwardly and upwardly extending tongue 22 which is adapted to be inserted into a complementary slot 23 in the knob 21 to lock the upper ends of the arms 8 and 11 together in such a manner as to prevent separation thereof when the sections 4 and 5 are bolted together about the upper end of a fence post.

The manner in which the cap 1 is adapted to be applied to and removed from the post 2 and the piping 3 is shown in FIG. 9. As shown therein the section 5 is first applied to the post with the semicircular head 9 seated on the top of the post with the arm 11 behind the piping 3 and the semi-cylindrical wall 10 engaging the post wall. The section 4 is then held in raised position and the tongue 22 carried by the arm 8 inserted into the slot 23 in the knob 21 carried by the arm 11, after which the section 4 is swung downwardly from the position shown in FIG. 9 to the position shown in FIG. 3. The two sections 4 and 5 are then bolted together about the upper end of the post by inserting the bolts 14 through registering apertured ears 12 and 13 and applying the nuts 15 thereto. To remove the cap 1 from the post 2 the bolts 14 are removed and the section 4 swung up from the position shown in FIG. 3 to the position shown in FIG. 9. The section 4 is then pulled outwardly to withdraw the tongue 22 from the slot 23 after which the section 5 may be removed from the post by moving it outwardly away from the post 2 and piping 3.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that I have provided a very simple and eifective means for accomplishing the objects of the invention.

It is to be understood that I am not limited to the specific construction shown and described herein as various modifications may be made therein within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A fence post cap of the character described comprising an inverted cup-shaped member which is adapted to be applied to the upper end of a fence post and a transversely disposed ring-shaped member of substantially smaller size which is integral with said cup-shaped member and extends upwardly therefrom and is adapted to encircle the top rail of a fence; said cup-shaped member comprising a pair of opposed similar parts and means by which said parts are adapted to be removably clamped together about the upper end of a fence post; and said ring-shaped member comprising a pair of opposed concavely curved arms defining between them a closed aperture, one of said arms being integral with and extending upwardly from one of said parts and the other of said arms being integral with and extending upwardly from the other of said parts.

2. A fence post cap as defined by claim 1 in which the upper free ends of said arms are provided with complementary interengageable locking means by which the upper ends of said arms are releasably locked together when said cap is applied to said post.

3. A fence post cap as defined by claim 2 in which said locking means comprises a tongue which extends outwardly and upwardly from the free end of one of said arms, and a knob which extends upwardly from the free end of the other of said arms and is provided with a slot for the reception of said tongue.

4. A fence post cap as defined by claim 1 in which the upper free ends of said arms are provided with cornplementary interengageable locking means by which the upper ends of said arms are releasably locked together when said cap is applied to said post.

5. A fence post cap as defined by claim 4 in which said locking means comprises a tongue which extends outwardly and upwardly from the free end of one of said arms, and a knob which extends upwardly from the free end of the other of said arms and is provided with a slot for the reception of said tongue.

6. A fence post cap as defined by claim 1 in which each of said similar sections of said cup-shaped member comprises a semicircular head which is adapted to seat on the upper end of a fence post, a rib on one of said heads and a complementary groove on the other of said heads, a semi-cylindrical side wall which is integral with and extends downwardly from said head for engagement with the side Wall of said post, and a pair of ears which are integral with said side wall and extend outwardly therefrom in opposite directions one adjacent each end of said side wall, said ears being provided with apertures for the reception of nuts for the bolts by which said pair of similar parts are adapted to be clamped together about the upper end of said post, any rotation of said nuts thereby being prevented during assembly of the parts.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 368,284 8/1887 Fletcher. 833,746 10/1906 Lyle 248251 1,192,216 7/1916 Louden. 1,871,240 8/1932 Scheller. 2,802,645 8/1957 Rice 256-34 3,021,114 2/1962 OConnell.

DENNIS L. TAYLOR, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

